Second criminal complaint filed against Rensselaer County Jail sergeant

TROY -- A sergeant at the Rensselaer County Jail is the subject of another criminal complaint, which was filed with Troy Police Wednesday afternoon. It is the second such complaint filed in within the last two months.

According to police records, a corrections officer at the jail filed a complaint charging Master Sergeant Anthony Patricelli with a pattern of intimidation and harassment.

The complaint states that on October 8, 2012, Patricelli made a phone call to correction officer John Gorman while he was on shift at the jail, which Gorman described as threatening.

A spokesperson for the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Department, which oversees operations at the jail, would not comment on the complaint.

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"We don't know anything about it," said Yvonne Keefe. "We have no comment at this time."

In his complaint, Gorman alleges a pattern of harassment ranging from sudden, unexplained changes in his duties at the jail, to being relived of access to certain parts of the facility under orders from Patricelli.

Gorman's report to police also detailed a series of interactions with Patricelli which he described as tense, during the course of his shift.

This is Gorman's second complaint against Patricelli, who was arrested by state police in February and given an appearance ticket for allegedly making threatening phone calls to Gorman's home.

Gorman had initially informed then Head of Corrections, Ruth Vibert, about the allegations. Vibert said she made a report that she turned over to Rensselaer County Sheriff Jack Mahar.

Soon afterward, Vibert was dismissed from her post for not meeting educational requirements.

Vibert then filed a civil claim for wrongful termination, which alleges Mahar had ordered her to squash Gorman's complaints against Patricelli and help sabotage Gorman's career at the jail.